Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Ahh, relaxation. A Dalmac recap.

S, day 1. He rode off about 5 seconds after this picture.

Am back from my stint as an athletic supporter*. Here's a brief recap:

Thursday, S finished biking his miles around 1 p.m. We set up our tent and spent some time relaxing. Drove to a nearby town to get my dinner, then back to the high school (all the over-night spots were on high school grounds) for S to eat with the other riders. The town's high school football team had their home opener so we went to that. With no TV and no light for reading after the football game, we were in bed by 10**. Oooh! And it rained. About 4:30 in the morning, we had to get up and close tent flaps. It was wonderful. It hasn't rained in these parts in well over a month so I had to talk myself out of dancing in it in my PJs.

S, Dalmac day 3

Friday S got on the road about 8:30 or so. I met S at the first support stop about 9:30, then decided I'd hit every yard sale I could find between there and his stopping point. Well. The lady running the first yard sale I went to said, so, ya' goin' to the Amish Flea Market over in Clare? I got the details and headed back the way I had just come to attend, by far, the biggest flea market I've been to in years. Didn't spend a lot of money but had a fantastic time looking at all the goodies. I told S that next year I'm going to plan on going straight to Clare on the second day and that he can fend for himself that day. Froze our asses off Friday night - it was darned chilly. Once we got the blanket situation under control we slept great. Perfect sleeping weather!

Lake Michigan from Cross Village, Michigan

Saturday was S's long day. He rode about 93 miles. We ended up in Boyne City. It just so happened that some of his sailing buddies were on Lake Charlevoix for a regatta wo we were able to hang with them for the evening. (Also we got to stay in a condo instead of having to sleep in the tent. Which meant I didn't have to shower with a bunch of women. I never understood why they put community showers in high school locker rooms anyway.)

Behind Legs Inn, Cross Village, Michigan

Sunday S got a bit of a late start - around 9. He finished up just before 2. We loaded up the bike, he took a shower, and off we headed towards home. Had to stop and pick up one of my dogs and ended up staying at the dog-sitter's house until after midnight. (The talk was of politics, politicians, and prisons. I don't talk about politics a lot but I need to say here that aside from having female reproductive organs, I have NOTHING in common with Sarah Palin. In fact, her mindset/beliefs/politics scare the shit out of me.)

I was exhausted but very relaxed and so very glad to get home and still have Monday off.

**Here is where you find out that one of my biggest pet peeves is when people let their cell phones make noises without shutting them the fuck up. Seriously. I hate those people. Someone a few tents over had a text message or a voice message or SOMETHING that made their phone beep every few minutes. I went ape shit crazy because of it. I've not yet regained my sanity. Poor S. He heard me mutter something about beeping phones most of the night. The straw that broke this camel's back was when the damn thing woke me again at 3:30 in the morning. I believe my exact words were, "Someone needs to shut their FUCKING PHONE OFF!" said loud enough for those in the immediate vicinity to hear. Didn't happen. Phone continued to beep. I should've repaid the kindness of THAT person by finding out which tent they were in and leaving a nice fresh pile of dog poo outside their door. Ass munch. (Ok. I really feel better now. I really needed to vent.)

Sounds like you fulfilled your role as an athletic supporter with enthusiasm!

I'm pretty sure that it's a requirement that no matter how long you camp in a tent, you will have rain at least 1 night. Even if you are camping only 1 night. At least that has always been my experience.

I haven't been to a good flea market in years. We have one a little over an hour away that was really excellent, but it seems to have declined in quality in the past few years.

My phone never rings, because it is rare that anyone calls or texts me, so I never have to worry about annoying people with it. Which is probably good since I have an annoying ringtone.